Second Chance
by Kitty McGonagall
Summary: Hotaru never fully got over the loss of Gin, so what happens when they are given a second chance to be together? Will Hotaru be able to accept Gin and feel love for him the way she once did or will she lose him forever?
1. Prologue

Second Chance

Summary: Gin and Hotaru slowly fell in love as time passed, with her returning to the forest on the mountain every year. He had warned her when she was only a child to never touch him or he would disappear, so as time passed she had been careful not to do so, but even so he still disappeared. Hotaru was heartbroken over losing him, though she decides that the best she can do is move on. She graduates high school and moves to the village at the base of the mountain where she met Gin as she avoids going near there because of the painful memories, but that all changes when she meets a young man in the village who looks eerily like Gin did, only older. Could her wishes have come true? Could it really be Gin or just her heart wishing for the impossible?

Prologue

Hotaru stared through the holes in the mask that Gin had placed on her a brief moment before so that he could kiss her, something she felt she longed to be able to do in return. Once he started walking again, a blissful smile on his gentle face and in his grey eyes she felt like her heart would leap from within her chest at the thought of him having kissed her. But she knew how this would end, all due to it being a dream. Two children ran by only for the young boy to trip as Gin reached out to catch him. Hotaru wished to yell to scream for Gin to not touch the boy but she knew changing the outcome of a dream would not bring him back to her. She was forced to once again see Gin's body begin to glow only for her to rush to him and wrap her arms around him only for him to disappear before her eyes.

"Gin!" Hotaru yelled as she sat upright, her short brown hair falling about her face as she saw that she was not up in the forest but in her small apartment she had been renting in the village she had always loved to visit as a child. Slowly getting up from her bed she walked to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face as she closed her blue eyes as she could feel the tears beginning to brim there. 'I thought I had moved on from him…because he is gone and my time with him is nothing but a memory…' she thought to herself as she shook her head. 'But I guess I have not because my heart aches every time I think about him…' she thought as she went back to her room and sat down on the edge of her bed for several moments before deciding to try and get more sleep, not noticing the lone firefly that was in her room or that it flew out the open window seconds after she fell asleep.

/

The small firefly flew up the mountain passing by many of the other spirits that inhabited the mountain as it seemed that things had been quiet and lonely there ever since Gin had disappeared from the accident a few years before. However the firefly had no time for that, instead it headed to where the Mountain God that had placed the original spell on Gin lived. Once there the firefly told the spirit that had no form of what it had witnessed with Hotaru as the spirit decided it would allow Gin a second chance. Summoning Gin's spirit back from beyond and into a new body that would be more or less like that of a puppet, but more durable than the one he had been in before. While Gin was laying on the ground still unconscious he looked to have aged a few years so that he was now in his early twenties. Once the task was done the Mountain God called one of the spirits whom had once been Gin's good friend. Matsumino.

"You will accompany him into the world of the humans in a form that will allow you to blend in." the Mountain God said as it once again used its power to make a second human vessel for Matsumino. "If he wishes to retain this body and for it to be fully human, he must within one year's time prove that the love that was between him and Hotaru was true. If not his body will crumble to dust and there will be no returning for him." The Mountain God explained as Matsumino wanted to argue but the spirit continued. "You are not to tell him since his proving his love for Hotaru cannot be done due to a desire to save himself. But from their true feelings for one another."

Matsumino nodded defeated as he moved into the human body that had been fashioned for him, waking instantly and slowly standing as he looked down at himself seeing that he was in fact by all appearances human. It was then that he noticed slightly grown out black hair falling in his eyes as he knew now was not the time to be all but examining his new body as he knelt and picked Gin up with ease as he bowed to the Mountain God before leaving, taking his unconscious friend along with him.

 **A/N:** This is my first attempt at a fanfic based around Hotarubi no Mori e. I watched the movie recently and loved it, only the ending made me cry. So I was thinking what if they got a second chance to be together? Would it work out? Keep reading to find out where this is going.


	2. First Day

**First Day**

Matsumino carried Gin's unconscious body down from the mountain to the village where he had been told that they were to live. 'Surely it will be easy to blend in with the humans…right?' he thought to himself as he began to feel his friend stir ever so slightly as they reached the entrance to the sacred mountain. "Gin?!" Matsumino said in shock as he did not think that his old friend would be coming around so soon. So in a scramble, he put Gin down so that he was leaned up against a tree as he knelt down facing his friend seeing if he was actually coming around. It was several minutes before Gin opened his silver eyes and looked toward a person he did not recognize.

"What happened? Who are you?" Gin asked slowly bringing his hand up to rest against his forehead since the last thing he remembered was him standing facing Hotaru as his body was disintegrating due to how he had touched a human boy at the festival. Then there was one small fragment of a memory of him holding out his arms to the girl he loved and had watched grow up from a young girl, saying how he could finally hold her as she rushed toward him as they had uttered words of love before Gin had vanished.

"It's me. Matsumino." Matsumino said as he was sure Gin was still out of it, that or maybe the Mountain God had done too good of a job to conceal who he really was even from his friend.

"But you are obviously a human." Gin said since the Matsumino he remembered had been one of the many spirits that inhabited the mountain.

"Well you see, the Mountain God gave me this body so that I could accompany you for the next year." Matsumino said as he was sure that was allowed to at least explain that much, just not the time frame being imposed. "He brought you back and gave you a new body that is not bound by the same rule as before so it will be safe for you in the village of humans." Matsumino said with a wide smile on his face. "Though I think for tonight we will need to camp out here and then go to the village in the morning." Matsumino said as Gin merely nodded.

"How long have I been gone?" he asked since he did not seem to have aged more than a few years even in his new body. Though if it had been too long then Hotaru may have forgotten him or worse…moved on. But was it right for him to wish that she had not done so? Since for all he knew she could have grown up, gotten married and had a family away from the village she once visited as a child.

Matsumino knew the reason Gin was asking so he thought for a brief second using the number of sad festivals there had been since that horrible night. "All I know is that it has been a while, but not super long." Matsumino said as in truth he knew that Hotaru was out of school and she had moved to the village and went so far as to visit yearly placing flowers at the entrance of the mountain in memory of Gin, something she had done not long before but in the dark the white lilies were not visible due to how the moon was blocked out by the clouds. "All I know is that Hotaru is no longer in school but lives in the village she used to visit as a child." He said as Gin looked toward Matsumino with a weak expression.

"Hotaru…" Gin said in a sad voice as Matsumino could tell Gin was reflecting on the one he had watched grow from a young child to a young woman. "How can I face her after how I hurt her…" he whispered closing his eyes as he felt beyond pained at the thought of how he had only seen the mask before she ran to him and embraced him smiling proclaiming that she loved him.

"From what I have heard she never did fully move past you, and misses you even now." Matsumino said as Gin opened his eyes to look at the strange human appearance of his friend as the clouds above shifted to allow him to see that his friend as a human had black hair and dark grey eyes that seemed to near blend with his hair at the moment. "And that is why you were brought back, to give you a chance to see her again." Matsumino said as he hoped he had not stepped out of line by telling Gin that much.

"I want to see her, at least to apologize for what happened. I should have been more careful I knew humans sometimes snuck into the festival so to grab a kid even if they were tripping was a foolish thing for me to do." Gin said only for his eyes to fall on the white lilies that were not too far away as the moonlight seemed to dance off of the petals. "What is that?" he asked as he looked toward them.

Matsumino turned to look back at the flowers as his face softened even more than before. "Those are from Hotaru. She placed them recently but besides that she never sets foot on the mountain anymore."

"I am not surprised by that…" Gin said in a sad tone as he stared at the white lilies. Something that reminded him of Hotaru in more ways than one because of how she was always one that was pure and one who never seemed sad in all the time he had known her. How she had embraced that he could not be touched or he would disappear, though with that it brought a saddening thought to the forefront of his mind. "I do not think I could bare to see Hotaru now, not when this body is frail." He said since it felt the same as before which meant if he touched her he would merely vanish.

"Why not? You are not bound by the same spell as before. The Mountain God promised me that your body will not disappear should you embrace Hotaru." Matsumino spoke hurrying to assure his friend all due to how he had seemed very upset for a moment there.

"You are serious?!" Gin asked in shock as he looked to Matsumino with wide eyes to see his friend smile and nod. 'I will med your broken heart, Hotaru. And show you that I have missed you and regret hurting you the way I did when I made a foolish mistake.' He thought to himself as he went to force himself up. "We should go ahead and get going." Gin said only to fall back to the ground. "Guess I am not recovered enough to walk yet…" Gin said with a hint of frustration in his voice at that because of how he wanted to get to the village, find Hotaru and reveal he was back. However, part of his believed even if he had done so, that she would not believe him because of how she had seen him vanish.

"We will go in the morning. Get some rest." Matsumino said as Gin nodded but he had a hint of being reluctant as he laid back on the ground staring up at the moon and stars trying to shine from behind the clouds. "Hotaru…" Gin whispered as he slowly drifted off into sleep's chilling embrace.

/

Hotaru lay on her bed in a fitful sleep only for her blue eyes to shoot open as she stared at the dark ceiling, all due to how she had been dreaming about him again. However, this time she had been dreaming that he was back and that he came to her and was able to embrace her. 'Gin…' she thought to herself as she slowly sat up drawing her knees up closer to her chest as tears fell anew down her pale cheeks. 'Why does it hurt more than ever…' she thought to herself as she found herself wishing for some way to be reunited with Gin, even if it was in death.

/

Gin woke feeling a little groggy due to how the sunlight was burning at his eyelids prompting him to open his eyes. "Matsumino?" Gin asked as he turned his head to look to the left to see his friend sleeping at an odd angle, suggesting that he may have tried to sleep in the branches of the nearby tree only to have fallen out of it. Something that brought a chuckle to Gin's lips as he could not help but smile at that. He then looked to the bright sky as he shifted his arms as they felt much less stiff this morning as he slowly pushed himself up, barely having to strain to do so. Once he was sure his legs could manage it, he slowly got to his feet as he looked down to see he was dressed the same as he had been in his old body, sandals with pants, red undershirt and a white over shirt that hung open. 'Will she recognize me?' he thought to himself only to hear shifting as he looked back over his shoulder to Matsumino who was untangling himself from his own body. "Sleep well?" Gin asked with a smirk at Matsumino gave Gin a slightly annoyed look.

"As a matter of fact, I slept great once the ground helped me fall asleep right away." Matsumino said reaching up rubbing the top of his head. "I will say this though; this body is fairly durable." He said as he slowly stood up stretching. "So are you ready to get going?" Matsumino asked as he stood. "Oh and we should be good to get an apartment in the village because of how some of the other spirits have been finding coins that were left at the entrance along with as a possible trail for humans trying to venture into the forest to find their way back." Matsumino said reaching into his pocket pulling out a full pouch. "However for some things we will need to find jobs doing something to insure we do not draw attention." He said as Gin merely nodded showing that he was anxious to get going. "More so since this time your body will actually need substance to survive unlike before where you could go with or without eating." Matsumino said tucking the pouch back into his pocket as the pair started walking down the trail heading toward the human village.

As they walked in relative silence besides occasional conversation, Gin was focused on waiting for how the village would soon be visible, so when his friend had asked if he needed to stop and rest, Gin did not hear him as he had caught sight of the small cluster of roofs down below. Somewhere in one of those buildings was Hotaru.

"Gin!" Matsumino all but snapped because he had noticed that Gin had not heard a word he had said. So out of frustration he reached up catching Gin upside the head with his open right palm, sending Gin forward to the ground as a small bit of dirt was displaced up into the air for a brief second before it fell back to settle on the ground. "I was trying to tell you that you should not just outright tell Hotaru who you are since it has been a couple of years so she may not even consider the possibility and distance herself from you." Matsumino said as Gin leaned up and shook his head slightly.

"I already figured that much out myself." He said as he slowly got back to his feet and playfully hit his friend on the arm. "Payback." He said simply before he started walking again, not noticing the sad look his friend was giving him.

'One year...well less than a year if the Mountain God meant that it started from last night since he revived Gin about midnight. And I cannot tell him all that is really at stake or it will be a violation of what the Mountain God said.' Matsumino thought with a sad expression on his face even as he saw Gin stop up ahead and turn back toward him.

"Hey! You coming, Matsumino?" Gin called as it seemed to shock Matsumino out of his daze for the time being as he had rushed to catch up and then fall into stride beside Gin. "Though I was just thinking, should you go by an alias?" Gin asked looking sideways towards his friend as they continued down the path.

"An alias? But what is wrong with my name?" Matsumino asked giving Gin a disapproving look for how he had dared to suggest he go by anything other than his name. More so when to Matsumino there was no reason for something such as that as his dark eyes narrowed.

"I mean because Matsumino may not be a human name that blends in from the types of names that Hotaru once told me were common. Think of it as a code name or nickname." Gin said brushing off how his friend seemed upset.

Matsumino thought about it for a moment before he sighed and shook his head. "Alright, just nothing degrading." He relented.

"I was actually thinking that Matsu would work, just a shortened version of your real name." Gin offered as Matsumino gave him a confused look. "Because you were not wanting something that might be insulting toward yourself, so why not just shorten your name while we are around humans but when it is just the two of us talking I will still call you by your real name." Gin said as Matsumino nodded at him figuring that would work so long as his friend remained true to his word.

By that evening, the two had gotten to the village, gone to the market and got a few things after they had leased a small apartment that was a single open room with a bathroom off to the side along with a small kitchen. Though Gin did not want to stay in the room but go out looking for Hotaru since he had yet to see her yet, but Matsumino insisted that after all they had done that Gin needed to rest for the time being to just insure he did not lose any strength the next morning due to how he was in a new body. So after a heated debate once they had settled, Gin relented and settled down to rest for the evening figuring that he would see Hotaru the following morning since it was not that big of a village so surely he would be able to find her. A thought that stayed with him even as he drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face.

However, during this time Matsumino remained to the side watching his friend as he could not help but wonder a few things. Was a year going to be long enough? Would Hotaru be able to bring herself to love Gin again the way she once had? A pure love that had never been one sided since the first day when Gin had first led her from the forest. Something that Matsumino along with all of the other spirits had watched from a distance while Gin slowly got closer with the young girl who seemed to bring light to Gin's dark world. A world he was never meant to be part of since he was born a human. At least until he had been abandoned in the forest and to save his life he was all but made into a spirit with that one flaw or had it been a curse?

At that thought, Matsumino thought back on the earlier days of Gin's previous life once he had grown to a small child and had been playing with Matsumino near a stream that ran through the forest on the mountain. Where Gin had first expressed sadness at his fate, because he longed to go find out why his parents had abandoned him but he knew if he did he would disappear because of how the outside world was filled with humans. So Matsumino had insisted that he would be Gin's family, like his older brother. However, that had only seemed to cast more darkness on Gin's world due to how he was not like the other spirits and at times had longed for contact with another human even though he knew it would mean his life would be forfeit.

'I knew from the first time I saw Gin with Hotaru that she was the one meant to bring light to his dark world, but I never thought that it would lead down this path.' Matsumino thought as his dark eyes fell on his friend who was resting at the moment. 'But I cannot help but feel that one year will not be long enough…' he thought sadly as he did not want to lose his friend again as a thought suddenly dawned on him. 'Wait! If Gin does manage to succeed…he will become a human and not be able to be around me anymore or anyone else that he knows from the forest…' Matsumino thought as he angled his face down casting his eyes into shadow. 'But it would be what Gin wants, he has always wished to be with those who are like him, and Hotaru makes him happy so with her is where he would truly belong.' Matsumino thought to himself as he found himself feeling selfish for how he wondered if he left Gin and went back to the Mountain God and asked if he could stabilize Gin's body but make it so he once again could not be around humans to keep his friend with him.

 **A/N:** I do not remember if I put this before, but I do not own Hotarubi no Mori e or the characters recognized from the movie or the manga. This is just meant as what I thought as a possible continuation from the movie that was amazing but unbelievably sad at the same time. Now I want to take time to dedicate this chapter to the first to review this story, miyonochan and also to nekosakixramnoff. Also to those who are following and favorited the story. I am very thankful to all of you for giving this story a chance and I hope that all of you enjoy this chapter.


	3. First Sight

**First Sight**

Gin had been working in the village for the last month, not yet seeing Hotaru anywhere even though Matsumino insisted every single day that he was sure that she was still in the village. Though with each passing day, Gin got the sinking feeling that his time in the world of the living was dwindling, almost as though each day the time got closer to midnight when something bad would happen. When he voiced this to his friend, Matsumino would laugh and insist that Gin was still just getting used to how he was in an actual physical body and not one held together by frail magic that would fade the moment he was touched by a human. Something that led Gin to think about the first day out in the village how he nervously avoided touching or bumping into anyone despite Matsumino insisting that he would not disappear this time should he touch a human. It had actually ended with Matsumino bumping into a kid sending them toward Gin who caught the kid to save him from falling. Once they made sure the kid was alright, Matsumino pointed out that Gin was still himself.

'Even so…I have the feeling that my friend is hiding something. And why have I been unable to find Hotaru?' Gin thought to himself as his silver tinted eyes stared at the ceiling of the small apartment that he and Matsumino were living in. Shadows danced across the walls and ceiling yet Gin felt no fear or worry from them, but instead from how he was anxious to see Hotaru. He wanted to hold her again, he longed to steal a kiss from her lips. Yet did he have the right to want such things after how he had hurt her when the spell on his body had broken and he had disappeared while holding her close.

'Could she have moved on? If she has…can I accept that?' Gin thought as he closed his eyes bringing his arms up to be behind his head as he lay there on the floor lost in his own thoughts. 'I have loved her and wanted to be with her, to see her happy. Now that I have the chance to get both of my wishes granted, will they be?' Gin thought as he felt a deep pang of sadness shoot through his heart. 'Hotaru…' Gin thought as he drifted off to sleep.

/

Matsumino had known that time was growing shorter for his friend with every passing day, but he was actually delaying the reunion with Hotaru as best he could all due to how he wanted to be sure there was no one else in her life. Mainly due to how he was sure if there was and Gin found out that he would be heartbroken and go back to the Mountain God and ask to disappear once again rather than be without the one he had fallen in love with. While he had left his friend back at their apartment, Matsumino had gone out to check on a few more things since he actually planned to reunite Gin and Hotaru the following day.

'I just hope she can accept him so that we do not lose Gin again.' Matsumino thought as he went to the place where Hotaru was living, actually not that far from where Matsumino and Gin were living. Though he figured that was not surprising since the village was not really that big so there were only so many places that she could be. He watched from the street for a good few hours, not seeing anyone come or leave besides Hotaru's aunt and uncle who lived in the village and had been the ones she had visited as a small child. 'Tomorrow will work.' Matsumino thought to himself as he saw the light in the room that was Hotaru's turn off as he turned and headed back to the apartment he was sharing with Gin.

/

Hotaru thought she would never get used to wearing a smile again for the sake of others. All due to how the last time she had truly smiled was the night she had gone with Gin on a date to the festival, the night that he had disappeared forever. Though she had done so for when her aunt and uncle visited her for a short while during the early evening until well after dark. They had insisted that she was welcome anytime, but she did not feel like visiting. So when they had left, the smile vanished from her face as she no longer had to wear a happy mask for anyone.

She lingered in the living room only briefly before she retreated to her room and found the mask that Gin had once worn until that fateful night when he had placed it on her so that he could kiss her. 'Gin…' Hotaru thought as she lifted up the mask and hugged it close while tears fell freely down her face due to how she remembered how he had smiled at her and held his arms open for her knowing that he was free from the limits of the spell but at the cost that he had only seconds left.

'I want to see him again…' she thought her impossible wish since she knew he was gone for good as she closed her eyes drifting off into a fitful sleep due to how it seemed lately all she ever dreamed of was that night when Gin ceased to exist.

/

The following morning, Matsumino woke his friend as Gin was groggy at first insisting on some more sleep, that is until Matsumino said he had found Hotaru. In that instant Gin was fully awake and aware as he stared at Matsumino in surprise. "Are you serious? You finally found her?" Gin asked as he felt beyond happy but he did not want to get his hopes up since he was not even sure if Hotaru would even want to see him after how they had parted before.

"Yes, and if you hurry up and get ready we will be able to meet with her in the next hour." Matsumino said as it seemed that the second he had finished speaking, Gin was up out of bed and rushing to get ready. 'He really does love her…' he thought to himself with a sad smile all due to how he was worried what it would do to him if Hotaru was not able to accept him. 'Why does fate have to be so cruel?' he thought as Gin came out of the bathroom a moment later wearing casual jeans and a loose bright blue shirt. "Ready?" Matsumino asked as Gin suddenly seemed nervous.

"What if she doesn't want to see me?" Gin asked since he knew he loved Hotaru more than anything since she had been one he had counted down the days until he could see again when she had been a small child visiting her aunt and uncle who lived in the village every summer. "What if she has moved on and found someone else?" He asked nervously looking to Matsumino who merely smiled reassuringly at him.

"Do not worry. I know for a fact she has not." Matsumino said as he walked over to his friend only to place a hand on Gin's shoulder and give a slight squeeze to help assure his friend. "Now let's get going." He said as he turned and shifted his hand from Gin's shoulder to go around both shoulders as he steered his friend from their small apartment.

They walked in silence soon coming to a small café in the village that Matsumino had found that Hotaru worked at and recently he had come to know her schedule so that he could bring Gin to her when she would be at work. So when they got there, Hotaru was there waiting some of the tables. Once they got to the small fence that went around the front of the café, Gin just stood there, his eyes wide in shock as he saw the one that he loved.

Gone was the small child that he had known before and watched grow into a young woman. She looked near the same as she had when he had seen her before when he had faded from existence. Short brown hair that framed her face and her clear eyes. However, even from this short distance Gin could see faint hints of the pain that was in her heart. Pain that he feared he had caused her before. Though, faced with her being so close, he still felt like there was an immeasurable distance between them, they were of two different worlds.

"Go!" Matsumino urged trying to nudge Gin forward but he did not move as he angled his face down casting his grey eyes in shadow. "Talk to her!" Matsumino said hoping that it would get through to his friend who seemed frozen to the spot where he stood.

"I…" Gin started to say as he looked up his eyes locked on the one he loved only for him to feel an even greater pang of sadness. "I can't do this!" Gin said as he suddenly turned and ran from the café leaving a confused Matsumino who soon quickly followed his friend back toward the mountain.

 **A/N:** I am so sorry about taking so long to get this chapter up, but I hope that everyone likes it. I had thought to have Gin approach Hotaru but I thought it would seem more realistic if he hesitated and was afraid to do so out of the fear that she would reject him, not recognize him or that she might even hate him for hurting her. I already have the new chapter planned out, but things are a little chaotic for me, but I hope to have it up soon once I update my other stories as well. I want to thank Tei-Tsuki, Annitsu, and K for reviewing the last chapter. Also I want to thank everyone who has read, favorited, and followed this story. I hope that it continues to be one that all of you enjoy and hope that my long delays do not bother anyone with timing for updates. Until the next chapter!


	4. Gin's Heart

**Gin's Heart**

Gin continued to run as he reached the edge of the village in no time at all, only to feel an odd burning in his chest forcing him to slow down to a brief stop. 'I never used to get winded…' he thought to himself as he was still not used to being fully human. Though ignoring the burning in his lungs after a brief moment, he brought up his right hand and clenched it, gripping some of the material of his shirt, over his heart. 'I cannot believe how much she has grown up…' he thought with a deep stabbing pain shooting through him. 'I can't put her through more hardship…' he thought as he let his grip loosen only for his hand to fall back to his side before he started walking up the trails that led to the mountain. 'It would be selfish of me to want to have another chance with her. Surely she has moved on.' He thought as he ignored the sound of the wind through the trees.

'But why would the mountain God have brought me back? A cruel game?' Gin thought as he failed to notice the amount of time that had passed as it was now into the afternoon. 'The sun is so warm…much like how it used to be every time I was with her…' Gin thought as he stopped closing his eyes as he for the first time since his eyes had fallen on Hotaru, he noticed the gentle brush of the wind against his skin, briefly allowing a slight relief from the heat of the afternoon sun. 'It was like this, even on that day…' he thought as he sank to his knees for a moment angling his head down staring at the grass that swayed back and forth with the wind.

As he continued to watch the movements of the grass he could not help but think back on when he had first met Hotaru, when she had been only a child. He had thought for a moment that she might have been either a spirit of the mountain pretending to be human until how she acted toward him that day. She had been no more than a small frightened child who had gotten lost in a place no human dared to go for fear of the spirits that lived on the mountain.

Just thinking of that day, Gin once again in his mind saw the sweet child that Hotaru had been before she had grown more and more with each year. In that moment when he had told her he was not a human but a spirit he had expected her to run and be afraid, but she had not. Something that Gin had never admitted to anyone, but it had touched him that someone other than the spirits of the mountain had looked upon him without fear. More so since he always wore a mask to make himself appear more like his friends so he could blend in.

Though none of that seemed to have phased Hotaru as she had only looked to Gin and smiled, an expression that would only ever appear as a half true expression on Gin's face. Except for the time when he had first led Hotaru back to the entrance to the spirit territory of the mountain and she had introduced herself to him once again with that smile on her face, one that Gin in that moment began to treasure and look forward to seeing. Even as she had said in a kind voice that her name was Hotaru, and he had hesitated in shock because while he had at times seen humans from afar he had never shared his name with any since all of the spirits on the mountain knew who he was. He had only been shocked from his own surprise at her introducing herself when he had seen her turn to leave, a part of him sad to see the child go. So as a last effort to reach out to her before he returned to where he belonged in the spirit territory, he had answered her greeting with only one word.

" _Gin."_

'Heh…' Gin thought to himself as a small chuckle as he forced himself back to his feet continuing up the mountain as he thought then of how she had come back the next day. And where he had to her seemed to appear there, but in truth he had waited near the border since right after dawn wondering if the girl named Hotaru would return. Something that had seemed odd to the spirits that passed insisting he forget about her for his own safety, all because if she ever accidentally touched his skin he would disappear.

'Even though I did disappear once, I held no regret because I was able to hold her in my arms and tell her my feelings.' He thought to himself as the memory shifted as a blur through all of the times they had spent together, how she would visit him every day when she had been in the village, only to return to where she lived in another part of the country as the summer began to come to an end. 'I always knew, even back then, that we could never be together because as a spirit, I would never age, while she would…and eventually she would pass from this world and I would linger, forever frozen in time.' Gin thought to himself as his grey eyes soon fell on the steps that led up to the border between the human territory and that of the spirits.

'I wonder if it is better if I return to the other side, to allow Hotaru to continue with her life instead of my existence holding her back from true happiness.' Gin thought to himself as he slowly walked toward the steps. However, once he stepped one foot on them he felt an odd shift as everything started to be near like static and spinning as before his eyes he saw Hotaru.

" _Gin!" Hotaru yelled as she sat upright, her short brown hair falling about her face as she saw that she was not up in the forest but in her small apartment she had been renting in the village she had always loved to visit as a child. Slowly getting up from her bed she walked to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face as she closed her blue eyes as she could feel the tears beginning to brim there._

Gin started to feel himself falling as what he saw shifted allowing him to see something else, but this time he found he was able to hear Hotaru but she did not appear to be speaking.

 _Hotaru thought she would never get used to wearing a smile again for the sake of others. All due to how the last time she had truly smiled was the night she had gone with Gin on a date to the festival, the night that he had disappeared forever. Though she had done so for when her aunt and uncle visited her for a short while during the early evening until well after dark. They had insisted that she was welcome anytime, but she did not feel like visiting. So when they had left, the smile vanished from her face as she no longer had to wear a happy mask for anyone._

 _She lingered in the living room only briefly before she retreated to her room and found the mask that Gin had once worn until that fateful night when he had placed it on her so that he could kiss her. 'Gin…' Hotaru thought as she lifted up the mask and hugged it close while tears fell freely down her face due to how she remembered how he had smiled at her and held his arms open for her knowing that he was free from the limits of the spell but at the cost that he had only seconds left._

' _I want to see him again…' she thought her impossible wish since she knew he was gone for good as she closed her eyes drifting off into a fitful sleep due to how it seemed lately all she ever dreamed of was that night when Gin ceased to exist._

What he had heard in what he assumed were Hotaru's thoughts, echoed in his mind over and over. I want to see him again… it kept echoing over and over as Gin's eyes closed and he fell back onto the ground not even noticing someone approaching or what they were saying all because it sounded so far off and distant.

 **A/N:** Okay, I am very sorry this took so long for me to update. I wrestled with what would help Gin's resolve to see Hotaru since he is terrified that if he shows himself to her that it will only open old wounds. So where another has intervened allowing him to see just how much Hotaru has missed him. I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has read, favorited or followed this story! I hope that all of you and all those who are new to the story will enjoy it. And I wish to thank KawaiOverload and a guest who reviewed the last chapter. I also wanted to dedicate this chapter to everyone who is reading this story, I hope this chapter was worth the wait! I will try to not take so long next time! Until the next chapter!


	5. Matsumino's Choice

**Matsumino's Choice**

Matsumino rushed over to where Gin lay on the ground only to check his friend over to find he was fine, just passed out. 'Idiot…' he thought since at the moment he knew that each day was bringing his friend closer and closer to the deadline of the year to find out if Hotaru did still love Gin enough to accept he was back and now a human. So once he was sure that Gin was okay to move, he got his friend up on his back and proceeded to carry him back to their apartment they were staying in. Once there he left Gin on the floor as he took to pacing back and forth.

'I know that him going back to how things were is out because of how he has found love and the conditions for him to not disappear again…' Matsumino thought as his eyes went over to his friend who looked to be resting. 'Maybe I can bring Hotaru here to see him…' he thought to himself as he weighed the possible outcomes to that, one being that his friend would be furious, that or Hotaru would not believe him since she had seen Gin fade to nothing before. 'There is also the direct route…to give Gin the best chance to adapt to life in this village and win Hotaru's heart again…' he thought to himself as he figured that would be the better one. So he left his friend to race back up to the mountain to plead with the other spirits and the Mountain God.

It took some time, but eventually the Mountain God relented and granted Matsumino with an orb that would do the trick. It would reset Gin's memories so that he had ventured to the village alone and that his wish was to see Hotaru. So as he walked back down from the mountain holding the orb he felt an odd sense of peace even though this meant he would not be allowed to stay with his friend once he placed the orb with him. 'It is better this way since they fell in love before without the interference of those of us that are spirits of the mountain, so it will be best that it be that way now.

It was shortly before dawn when Matsumino made his way into the apartment where Gin still slept peacefully. "Good luck…my friend…" Matsumino whispered as he placed the orb down on his friend's chest realizing then just how small it was. Like that of a black polished pearl. Once the first light of the day hit it, the orb glowed for a moment before going dim as Matsumino felt the effects right away. Glancing down at the body he had been loaned by the Mountain God, he saw that he was becoming transparent.

Though it was to be this way, he felt himself smile as he looked down at his friend's sleeping face. "Just do what you were brought back to do, my friend. Find the one you love and allow the new love to bud between you so that you may know happiness once again the way you did once before. That is the wish of all of us spirits that you once lived alongside on the mountain. Though you will now believe the superstitions of the humans about the mountain and even fear returning, this is a gift to you from all of us."

The shadow that Matsumino had been casting against the far wall began to fade fully. "But once you meet the condition maybe we will meet again. All of us will be watching over you from a far." Matsumino said as the light in the room became more prominent as the form that had been his temporary one faded as though he never existed. His true form while still transparent returned to the forest on the mountain to find all of his friends there waiting. He beamed at them since he had done what he had set out to do. "He now has his best chance."

As the light in the village continued to shine on everything, one young man woke finding himself in an apartment that felt oddly roomy. He slowly sat up, his grey eyes gazing around as he took in his plain surroundings. Though he did not notice the black pearl fall from his chest only to tap the floor and disintegrate as though it had never existed. He slowly stood from his bed that was near the middle of the one room apartment as he walked over to the window and opened it as he looked out over the village, his home. Deep down he knew he had once lived on the mountain but that was all a haze as there was only one thing that was still clear in his mind.

Though as he was looking out of the window he saw the one whom he wished to see, to hold, more than anything in the world. Her light brown hair still the same as it had been the last time he had seen her before everything had gone dark. "Hotaru…" Gin breathed as he turned and raced toward the door of the apartment only to slip on his sandals as he raced out of the room, barely remembering to close the door as he felt his heart hammering against his chest. He had finally seen her! As he got to the front door of the apartment he raced out into the street that was only beginning to become a little more crowded. Glancing around for a brief moment he spotted her retreating back as he turned and raced toward her as he dodged around others out on the street. When he found he could not get close enough due to others in his way he clenched his teeth in frustration before he resorted to something more direct. He sighed as he then took a deep breath only to call out to her.

"HOTARU!"

 **A/N:** I want to apologize to everyone for how long it took me to get this chapter up. I had to rewrite it several times because I found it hard to get to this point with the original format of the chapter. I want to also take a moment to explain what Matsumino did and why. He decided that having someone from the mountain around that was from Gin's past was only going to serve as a crutch and hindrance to what Gin has to do to remain alive. So to lose his temporary form and be forced to return to the forest on the mountain, he granted Gin ignorance of his time in the village to that point so that he now can fully focus on rekindling things with Hotaru.


	6. First Hesitation

**First Hesitation**

Hotaru had gotten around like any other day as she had glanced across the room to where the mask that Gin had once worn rested. 'Gin…' she thought as she reached up touching her lips as she had always since that fateful night wished that she could have felt his lips in a kiss. Rather he had removed his mask and rested it on her face to allow that barrier to remain between them. One that was all but forbidden for her to cross. But instead another unwittingly crossed that barrier and caused the gentle soul of Gin to vanish from the world completely. 'Even when it is my time to pass from this world…will he be there?' she could not help but wonder as she walked over to the table where the mask was. 'Or did he disappear into nothing?' she wondered as that thought caused a pang of sadness to stab at her.

She knew deep down that if she could find a way to move past her feelings for him, the heartache would cease, allowing her to once again live her life. That of an average human. 'But to do that I would have to turn my back on my memories of him. And besides the spirits on the mountain, no one but me even knows that he even existed.' Hotaru thought as she felt a sharp pang of sadness since she had even considered turning her back on what had once been the happiest times of her life. When she had been a child, always looking forward to the summer when she would see him.

"Well time to get to work." Hotaru said to herself as she reached out touching the mask for a brief second as she had a look of longing, on her face. "I hope to we will one day see each other again, Gin…" she whispered before allowing her hand to move from the cold mask as she turned and walked from her small apartment and out toward the street. As with every morning she had turned to walk toward the café where she worked, only to hear a voice from her past call her name.

She almost didn't dare turn around, her heart raced yet leapt into her throat at the sound of that voice. She could hear footsteps getting closer, almost feeling like her and the unknown source of the voice were the only ones on the path through the village that morning. When the sound faded she glanced to the side seeing a shadow behind her own on the ground. Even just the image of that shadow, it seemed familiar as she felt a surge of emotions but she had learned some time ago to not get her hopes up.

"Hotaru?" the familiar voice spoke again as Hotaru closed her eyes only to turn in place so that physically she was facing the stranger, but her eyes were closed. "Why are your eyes closed?" the stranger asked.

"Because you sound like someone I used to know." She said hesitantly due to how she was sure it would sound silly to the stranger.

However, no hint of them finding it weird was in the next sound she heard. A laugh. And not just any laugh, it was Gin's laugh! At that point her eyes shot open as she saw none other than Gin! Hotaru's breath caught in her throat as she stared up at him, since he had gotten a little taller, almost like he had aged alongside how she had since that day. Her mouth moved wordlessly for a few moments before she forced her mouth shut for a moment as she breathed in and out through her nose, trying to calm her racing heart. "G-Gin?" she asked after several minutes while his silver eyes stayed locked on her, almost as though he was waiting for her full reaction to him standing there.

"Yeah." Gin said with a smile on his face until he saw the tears in Hotaru's eyes. "H-hey!" he said unsure on what to do since when she had been a kid when she had cried he had been unable to console her in any way due to the rule for his existence. That if he had touched her he would fade away. Though that was no longer the case, so he reached out to wipe her tears away but the moment she saw his hand move toward her, Hotaru's eyes became wide as she rushed to move back from him.

With his hand lingering in the air in between them, Gin stared at her in shock as she stared at him but with fear in her eyes before she turned and ran from him. 'I…I can't!' she thought as she ran down the street dodging between others on the street leaving Gin there staring after her in pure confusion.

 **A/N:** Finally, I am getting around to updating this story! I am so sorry to everyone for the delay. Things have been crazy. Though I am soon going to start work on the yearly holiday special. This will be the third year of me doing this, so this year I put up a poll. Everyone can cast their vote on which story they want me to do a holiday special. If it is close, then the top two will get their own specials. Though now onto the regular note. More will be explored into their reunion in the next chapter. This one was just for the first time they met face to face, the next chapter they will talk more. Now I want to thank Saphire282 and Samantha Star for having reviewed the last chapter. Also, everyone who has favorited, followed and read the story to this point. I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far and are not too upset for the long delay only for this chapter to be super short. I will try to update again soon!


	7. Why?

**Why?**

Gin stood there staring after Hotaru in pure confusion. 'Did she find someone else?' he wondered since he had thought she would at least be happy to see him, even just as a friend again. Even as people walked by, he paid them no mind, just trying to figure out why she ran from him. 'Could it have something to deal with the last time we saw one another?' he thought as the number of people had thinned considerably while he stood there stiller than a statue.

'The last thing I remember was light encroaching on the world around me, only to feel her embrace me as I did the same to her, what I had longed to do for some time.' He thought as he gritted his teeth in frustration as he closed his silver eyes. 'I have to find out more!' he thought as he turned slightly looking toward the mountain, his former home. Without hesitation he took off running through the village, only stopping at the base of the mountain. 'Am I still permitted here?' he wondered as he looked toward where he had once always waited for Hotaru.

Before his eyes, the memory of their first day together, her as a small child, walking away from him as he remained back at the entrance to the part of the mountain where people seldom tread. Her turning and smiling at him as he remained behind his mask watching her every move, confused, yet captivated by her. All because she had not shown fear at meeting him when he was between being human and being one of the spirits that inhabited the mountain.

Shaking his head, the hazy versions of them in his memory faded away with the soft breeze that blew. 'I have to find out.' He thought to himself as he headed toward the stairs, slowly starting to climb them. With each step he took, he felt the familiar presences of those he had spent years with.

/

Hotaru got back to her apartment only for her to collapse near the door as tears continued to stream silently down her face. 'Was that really him...?' she thought to herself as a hiccup sob ripped from her chest causing her lips to quiver. 'But I saw him vanish into nothing.' She thought as she clenched her eyes shut, shifting so she was sitting leaned against the door as she drew up her knees and wrapping her arms around them, making herself even smaller. 'How could it have been him?' she thought leaning forward resting her forehead against her knees only for her entire body to shake from the silent tears.

/

Gin kept walking, sticking to the trail that was all too familiar to him. A path he had once walked every day, both alone and with Hotaru. Once he got to a secluded place where an old shrine stood he walked forward and knelt before it. "Mountain God." He whispered, hoping that the Mountain God would hear his request. "Why was I brought back? Seeing me again, Hotaru was only made her sad." He whispered, hoping to be heard. "Please tell me why I was brought back!" he pleaded only for the air around the shrine to go still, almost without any life. "Please, Mountain God, tell me why you brought me back. You and the other spirits told me that should I ever come into physical contact with a human that I would cease to exist. Yet here I am." He said as he felt the presence even more, almost like a weight increasing, trying to pull him down to the ground. "I am not questioning you, I just wish to understand." He said as he heard a faint sound, and he knew, the Mountain God was there.

 **A/N:** Finally got this chapter done the way I liked! I am so sorry that it has taken me almost a whole year to get this one updated. I had to slightly shift some bits with it, which I found while writing this chapter to allow for it to move forward more. I will try to not take so long going forward. Now I want to thank everyone for being patient with me to get this update done. And a very special thanks to GeekAndProud85, Ninjazzz, and wercrazybesties4lyf for reviewing the last chapter.


End file.
